english grammar workbook for dummies_4

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83 Chapter 6: Made You Look! Punctuation Marks That Demand Attention To interrupt the flow of thought with another idea. “I will not attend the ball — how could I when my glass slipper is cracked? — no matter how much you beg.” Notice that the material inserted into the sentence between the two dashes doesn’t begin with a capital letter, even though in another situation it can stand alone as a complete sentence. To summarize or define a list. “Lip gloss, bug repellent, stun gun — Megan had everything she needed for her big date.” The dash divides the list from its defini- tion, which is everything Megan thinks she needs on a date. If you’re not feeling dramatic, use a colon to precede a list. A colon does the same job grammatically, with less flash than the dash. To show incompleteness. “You don’t carry stun —” Megan was nearly speech- less at the thought of a date without her trusty stun gun. The dash shows that the sentence is incomplete. To create drama. “May I introduce the best golfer in Antarctica — Sam Spearly.” The dash is the equivalent of a drumroll in this sentence. In the sample sentence, “Sam Spearly” may be preceded by a comma, if you favor a quieter approach. (See Chapter 5 for more information on commas.) When you plop a dash into a sentence, don’t place a comma before or after it, unless you’re showing incompleteness and the sentence requires a comma after the dash. Dashes aren’t appropriate in some situations. Keep these points in mind: Too many dashes are really annoying to the reader. Dashes can’t be used to join complete sentences. You can’t send a dash to do a hyphen’s job. Now dash through these questions, inserting dashes where appropriate. By the way, did you notice that I didn’t say where needed? That’s because dashes aren’t required anywhere. Other punctuation marks (colons or parentheses, for example) may substi- tute for the dash, though they’re usually less dramatic. Note that you may have to knock out another punctuation mark before inserting a dash. Q. As usual Debbie brought too many snacks, chocolate antlers, cherry-coated sardines, and unsalted popcorn. A. As usual Debbie brought too many snacks — chocolate antlers, cherry-coated sardines, and unsalted popcorn. The dash works better than the comma in this sentence, because the comma after snacks blends in with the list. 11. Jim plans to attend the truck race, I really don’t know why, along with his personal trainer. 12. “I can scarcely believe that he has a trainer because . . .” sputtered Debbie. 13. He needs help with his fitness routine, four push-ups, a walk around the block, and a 20- minute nap. 14. His personal trainer worked with one of the best athletes on the planet, Karen Green. 15. Push-ups and walking, not exactly demanding exercises, are so easy that even an old lady can do them.
84 Part II: Mastering Mechanics Sorting Out Semicolons A semicolon ( ; ) is the punctuation mark that people use to create winks in electronic messages. Not surprisingly, that isn’t its main job. Instead, semicolons link two com- plete sentences and separate items in a list when at least one of those items contains a comma. (Chapter 5 tells you more about this function of the semicolon.) One impor- tant note: Don’t join two sentences with a semicolon unless the ideas are closely related. Get to work. Insert or delete semicolons as required in Fran’s thoughts on a recent heat wave. If no semicolons need to be added or deleted, write “correct” in the blank after the sentence. Q. Fran is allergic to hot weather, she plans to crank up her air conditioner to maximum cool. _______________ A. Fran is allergic to hot weather; she plans to crank up her air conditioner to maximum cool. The original sentence sends a comma to do a semicolon’s job. Not a good idea! 16. The reasons why I hate the summer are sweat; sweat; and sweat. _______________ 17. They say global warming is a myth; I bought two watermelons today. _______________ 18. Tomorrow I will plan trips to the North Pole; Ross, Alaska; and Antarctica. _______________ 19. I will turn on the weather report; but I am sure that it will be sunny and mild. _______________ 20. My saltshaker will run freely again; I may buy a winter coat. _______________ 21. Of course, winter coats are now on sale the fact that winter doesn’t arrive for three more months is irrelevant. _______________ 22. Stores like to sell merchandise in advance shoppers prefer to buy season-appropriate goods. _______________ 23. Macy’s has a sale on boots with fur linings; cashmere scarves; and leather gloves. _______________ 24. I should shop in Australia for clothes I need in the Northern Hemisphere; they sell summer clothes in July. _______________ 25. July is quite cool in Sydney, Australia; Canberra, Australia, and Wellington, New Zealand. _______________
85 Chapter 6: Made You Look! Punctuation Marks That Demand Attention Placing Colons A colon ( : ) often shows up — to grammarians’ intense disapproval — in e-mails and the like to create smiley faces and other emoticons. Its real job is to introduce a long quotation or a list. Don’t place a colon after a form of the verb to be or a preposition (from, by, to, and similar words). Also, in the absolute strictest English (and not even I am that picky), a colon may introduce a list or a quotation only when the words before the colon form a complete sentence. If you follow this rule, you can’t insert a colon after for example, but you can use one after take a look at this example. Most business and technical handbooks allow colons after introductory phrases. Time to “colon-ize” (or not) the sentences in this section. Add or remove colons (and, if necessary, subtract other punctuation). If everything’s okay, write “correct” in the blank after the sentence. Q. The weather this year may be described with these words, horrible, freezing, humid, and windy. _______________ A. The weather this year may be described with these words: horrible, freezing, humid, and windy. The list of weather descriptions doesn’t include words. Placing a comma after words allows words to blend in with the list of descriptions. A colon marks the separation between the introduction and the list. 26. As I watched the thermometer rise, I told my friend what I felt: “There should be a national monument to the inventor of air-conditioning. If I had to live in the days when a bucket of ice and a fan were the only remedies for hot weather, I’d move to the North Pole.” _______________ 27. Did I tell you that I bought books by: Marv Heatfree, Helen Icicle, and October Surprise? _______________ 28. When I return, I will say: “Great vacation.” _______________ 29. The announcer will explain: that a strong cold front has wiped out the humidity. _______________ 30. I am astonished: a great, heat-free day! _______________ Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Hyphens, Dashes, Colons, and Semicolons Fran recently received a travel brochure, and she’s thinking about spending her vaca- tion at La Bocaville Resort. Ignoring the wisdom of Fran’s choice, read the following excerpt (see Figure 6-1) with an eye toward correct (actually, incorrect) punctuation. You need to find ten errors in hyphens, dashes, colons, and semicolons. Cross out the offending marks and substitute the correct punctuation. Enjoy your trip!
86 Part II: Mastering Mechanics La Bocaville Resort welcomes — you to the best vacation of your life! When you arrive at the airport, you’ll be greeted by: a stretch limo and a driver, a complimentary box of chocolates, and a bottle of mosquito repellent. No need to hike 10 miles to La Bocaville the limo will take you to the resort. After you’ve checked in to our lovingly-restored mansion, you can choose among many alternatives, including — volleyball played with a water filled balloon and a chat with our secretary treasurer, who is also our President of Having a Great Time! She’s dedicated to your Figure 6-1: vacation; and she knows her job depends on your happiness with La Sample brochure Bocaville. You may also want to visit the BocaBite Restaurant: excerpt from a conveniently located inside the pool area. Be sure to take bug-spray less-than- alluring along. resort.
87 Chapter 6: Made You Look! Punctuation Marks That Demand Attention Answers to Punctuation Problems a second-string. You’re not talking about second quarterback and string quarterback. These two words join forces to form one description of quarterback — one who isn’t on the starting team but rather is on the second-string team. b glue traps. You don’t normally need a hyphen between the prefix anti and the word it’s glued onto. The word glue describes traps and doesn’t form a compound. c pre-execution. Two vowels together, created by the attachment of a prefix, call for a hyphen. d anti-Pestbegone. The name of the product that Megan opposes is Pestbegone, which begins with a capital letter. When you clap a prefix onto a capitalized word, a hyphen needs to sepa- rate them. e self-improvement. The prefix self- likes to show up with a hyphen. f supremely annoying. These two words don’t form one description. Instead, supremely describes annoying. How annoying? Supremely annoying. In general, descriptions ending in -ly aren’t linked by a hyphen to other descriptions. g correct. The sentence links two prefixes to one word. The hyphen after the first prefix tells the reader to attach it to communication. h two- or a three-way and ski trip. Calvin likes a two-way telephone call or a three-way telephone call. The hyphen links the descriptions. Ski describes trip and doesn’t form a compound. i Latvian American or correct. Here hyphens enter the realm of politics. If you hyphenate the term, you give equal importance to both, so Megan appreciates her Latvian and her American heritage equally. If you don’t hyphenate, the second term dominates because it’s described by the first. Without a hyphen, Megan sees herself as primarily American, though the Latvian side has some influence. Which form should you use? It depends on your point of view, but be consistent. j extremely expensive. The first word describes the second. How expensive? Like everything Megan buys, extremely expensive! They aren’t linked as one description, so no hyphen should be inserted. k Jim plans to attend the truck race — I really don’t know why — along with his personal trainer. The interrupting words I really don’t know why are set off by dashes. But just so you know, parentheses can also do the job. l “I can scarcely believe that he has a trainer because —” sputtered Debbie. Or, correct. The ellipses (three dots) in the question do the job perfectly well, but the dash is more dramatic. Your call. m He needs help with his fitness routine — four push-ups, a walk around the block, and a 20-minute nap. The comma doesn’t work after routine because otherwise the definition just blends in and creates a list of four things: routine, push-ups, a walk, and a nap. If you’re allergic to dashes, a colon or parentheses may substitute here. n His personal trainer worked with one of the best athletes on the planet — Karen Green. Or, correct. Once again, if the comma is your preference, go for it. o Push-ups and walking — not exactly demanding exercises — are so easy even an old lady can do them. A dash sets off a comment on push-ups and walking.
88 Part II: Mastering Mechanics p The reasons why I hate the summer are sweat, sweat, and sweat. The items in this list are single words, not phrases containing commas. Semicolons therefore aren’t needed to separate the items in the list. Commas do the job. q They say global warming is a myth. I bought two watermelons today. A semicolon can’t join two unrelated ideas. These random thoughts — Fran always talks this way — shouldn’t be linked by a semicolon. Apart from punctuation, throwing two unrelated ideas together isn’t a good idea. The reader should have a logical thread to follow between one sentence and another. r correct. Surprised? This list contains one item (Ross, Alaska) that includes a comma. If the three places were separated only by commas, the reader would not be sure whether Ross and Alaska were two items or one. The semicolon tells the reader where one item ends and another begins. s I will turn on the weather report, but I am sure that it will be sunny and mild. The word but joins these two sentences, so you don’t need a semicolon too. Change it to a comma. A comma precedes and, but, or, nor, and similar words when they connect two complete sentences. t My saltshaker will run freely again. I may buy a winter coat. The semicolon implies a rela- tionship between the things it links. You can argue that the two halves of this sentence show what Fran wants out of the cold front, but if the relationship isn’t immediately clear to the reader, add some words or make two separate sentences. Better yet, add one or more sen- tences that join the two ideas in a logical way. u Of course, winter coats are now on sale; the fact that winter doesn’t arrive for three more months is irrelevant. These two complete thoughts both relate to the maddening habit of sell- ing out-of-season merchandise. Because both statements are complete thoughts, a semicolon joins them legally. v Stores like to sell merchandise in advance; shoppers prefer to buy season-appropriate goods. Each of these two statements could stand alone as a complete sentence, and that’s why they can’t be mashed together without a legal connection. You need a semicolon to link them. w Macy’s has a sale on boots with fur linings, cashmere scarves, and leather gloves. Take the semicolons out of this list. You need a semicolon to separate items in a list only if one of the items contains a comma — not the case here. x correct. In this sentence, two complete thoughts are correctly united by a semicolon. y July is quite cool in Sydney, Australia; Canberra, Australia; and Wellington, New Zealand. A comma separates the city and state in each of the items on this list, so a semicolon is needed to separate one item from another. A correct. This quotation from Fran is quite long and introduced by a complete sentence. Thus it may be introduced by a colon. B Did I tell you that I bought books by Marv Heatfree, Helen Icicle, and October Surprise? Don’t place a colon after the preposition by; just dive into the list. C When I return, I will say, “Great vacation.” The colon after say isn’t a good idea, because the quotation is short and (I have to admit) run-of-the-mill. The colon is appropriate for long or extremely dramatic quotations only. D The announcer will explain that a strong cold front has wiped out the humidity. Drop the colon! It only interrupts the main idea, which shouldn’t be interrupted, particularly in the case of cold fronts. (I’m writing this in mid-July, when everyone is sweating.) No punctuation is needed after explain. E I am astonished — a great, heat-free day! If you want the punctuation equivalent of a drum- roll, go for a dash, not a colon.
89 Chapter 6: Made You Look! Punctuation Marks That Demand Attention La Bocaville Resort welcomes — you to the best vacation of your life! 31 When you arrive at the airport, you’ll be greeted by: a stretch limo and a 32 driver, a complimentary box of chocolates, and a bottle of mosquito repellent. No need to hike 10 miles to LaBocaville; the limo will take you 33 to the resort. After you’ve checked in to our lovingly- restored mansion, 34 you can choose amoung many alternatives, including — volleyball 35 played with a water-filled balloon and a chat with our secretary-treasurer, 36 37 who is also our President of Having a Great Time! She’s dedicated to your vacation;, and she knows her job depends on your happiness with 38 La Bocaville. You may also want to visit the BocaBite Restaurant:, 39 conveniently located inside the pool area. Be sure to take bug- spray 40 along. F No punctuation needed here. Why? The sentence has no interrupting thought that should be set off by a dash. G No punctuation needed here, because a colon should never follow a preposition (by, in this sentence). H Two complete sentences can’t be placed next to each other without a joining word or appropri- ate punctuation. Insert a semicolon or make two separate sentences. I These two descriptions should not be linked because they don’t form a single description of mansion. Instead, restored describes mansion and lovingly describes restored. In general, words ending in -ly aren’t linked by hyphens to other descriptions. J The dash is out of place here because including introduces the list. Drop the dash. (I’d also leave La Bocaville Resort on the first available jet, but maybe that’s just me.) K The hyphen is needed to join water and filled because they create one description of the bal- loon and a very messy volleyball game. L The term secretary-treasurer is always hyphenated. M The two complete sentences are already joined by and. The semicolon is overkill. Drop the and, or drop the semicolon. N The colon after Restaurant implies that a list or a quotation follows, but the next few words don’t fit into those categories. A comma is better here. O Bug describes spray. No hyphen is needed, because you don’t have a compound word.
90 Part II: Mastering Mechanics
Chapter 7 One Small Mark, a Whole New Meaning: Apostrophes In This Chapter Shortening words and numbers with apostrophes Showing possession A n apostrophe is a little hook ( ’) that snags many writers at some point. With a little practice, you can confidently plop apostrophes into the proper spots in your writing. The most common apostrophe mistake is to place one where it’s not appropriate. Don’t use an apostrophe in either of these circumstances: To create a plural: You have one arrow and two arrows, not two arrow’s. The no-apostrophe-for-plural rule holds true for names. I am one person named Woods, and members of my family are the Woodses, not the Woods’. With a possessive pronoun: Don’t use an apostrophe in a possessive pronoun (my, your, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, whose, and so on). Traditionally, an apostrophe was used to create a particular (and unusual) type of plural — the plural of symbols and numerals. It was also used to create the plural of a word referred to as a word. (Confused? Keep reading for an example.) In old books you may find a sen- tence like Henry sprinkled 20’s and therefore’s throughout his story. Don’t panic. Grammar goes through changes. What was once correct is now passé. Just recognize an outdated custom and move on with your life. Hook into the exercises in this chapter so that no apostrophe snags you ever again. Putting Words on a Diet: Contractions Apostrophes shorten words by replacing one or more letters. The shortened word, or con- traction (not to be confused with the thing pregnant women scream through), adds an infor- mal, conversational tone to your writing. The most frequently used contractions, paired with their long forms, include those in Table 7-1.
92 Part II: Mastering Mechanics Table 7-1 Frequently Used Contractions Long Form Contraction Long Form Contraction Long Form Contraction Are not Aren’t I will I’ll We are We’re Cannot Can’t I would I’d We have We’ve Could have Could’ve It is It’s We will We’ll Could not Couldn’t She has She’s Were not Weren’t Do not Don’t She is She’s Will not Won’t He has He’s She will She’ll Would have Would’ve He is He’s Should have Should’ve Would not Wouldn’t He will He’ll Should not Shouldn’t You are You’re He would He’d They are They’re You have You’ve I am I’m They have They’ve You will You’ll I had I’d They will They’ll You would You’d College entrance tests won’t ask you to insert an apostrophe into a word, but they may want to know whether you can spot a misplaced mark or an improperly expanded contraction. An apos- trophe shortens a word, and a common mistake is to re-expand a contraction into something it was never meant to be. The contraction should’ve, for example, is short for should have, not should of. The expressions should of, could of, and would of don’t exist in standard English. If you see one of these turkeys on the SAT or the ACT, you know you’ve found a mistake. Contractions aren’t just for words. You also can slice numbers out of your writing with apostrophes, especially in informal circumstances. This punctuation mark enables you to graduate in ’07, marry in ’15, and check the maternity coverage in your health insurance policy by early ’18. Feel like flexing your apostrophe muscles? Look at the underlined words in these sentences and change them into contractions. Place your answers in the blanks. Q. Adam said that he would go to the store to buy nuts. _____ A. he’d. This apostrophe is a real bargain. With it, you save four letters. 1. “Peanuts are not the best choice because many people are allergic to them,” commented Pam. _____ 2. “I am sure that you will choose a better appetizer,” she added. _____ _____ 3. The store will not take responsibility for your purchase. _____ 4. Do not underestimate the power of a good appetizer. _____ 5. Your guests will think that you are cheap if you do not provide at least one bowl of nuts. _____ _____ 6. “Adam would have bought caviar, but I would not pass the walnut counter without buying something,” commented Pam. _____ _____ 7. “You cannot neglect the dessert course either,” countered Adam. _____
93 Chapter 7: One Small Mark, a Whole New Meaning: Apostrophes 8. Adam usually recommends a fancy dessert such as a maple walnut ice cream sundae, but he is watching his weight. _____ 9. “If they created a better diet ice cream,” he often says, “I would eat a ton of it.” _____ 10. “Yes, and then you would weigh a ton yourself,” snaps Pam. _____ 11 She is a bit testy when faced with diet food. _____ 12. Of course, Adam could have been a little more diplomatic when he mentioned Pam’s “newly tight” sweater. _____ 13. Adam is planning to serve a special dessert wine, Chateau Adam 1999, to his guests. _____ 14. He always serves that beverage at reunions of the class of 2006. _____ 15. We are planning to attend, but we will bring our own refreshments! _____ _____ 16. No one from the class of 1912 can attend; they are all too busy golfing. _____ _____ 17. For this, our tenth reunion, we are preparing a guessing game. _____ 18. Adam wants to know who is in charge of creating the questions. _____ 19. He is in charge because he knows the most gossip. _____ 20. We will have to check the questions before the party. _____ 21. He would like nothing better than to shock us all with prying questions. _____ 22. At our last reunion, Adam should have been more careful. _____ 23. Three people cried because they could not remember the latest gossip item. _____ 24. Adam is not qualified to work for the new gossip magazine. _____ 25. I cannot tell a lie; I hope that Adam does not get the job. _____ _____ Taking Possession The pen of my aunt that you learn in foreign-language class becomes my aunt’s pen in standard English, with the help of an apostrophe. To show possession with apostrophes, keep these rules in mind: Singular owner: Attach an apostrophe and the letter s (in that order) to a singular person, place, or thing to express possession (Henry’s tooth, Rome’s dentists, the drill’s annoying whine). Plural owner: Attach an apostrophe to a regular plural (one that ends in s) to express possession (the boys’ restroom, the cities’ mayors, the billboards’ message). Irregular plural owner: Add an apostrophe and the letter s (in that order) to an irregular plural (one that doesn’t end in s) to express possession (the children’s toys, the data’s significance). Joint ownership: If two or more people own something jointly, add an apostrophe and an s (in that order) to the last name (Abe and Mary’s sofa; George, Jeb, and Barbara’s memories).
94 Part II: Mastering Mechanics Separate ownership: If two or more people own things separately, everyone gets an apostrophe and an s (Abe’s and Mary’s pajamas; George’s, Jeb’s, and Barbara’s shoes). Hyphenated owner: If the word you’re working with is hyphenated, just attach the apostrophe and s to the end (mother-in-law’s office). For plurals ending in s, attach the apostrophe only (three secretary-treasurers’ accounts). Time and money: Okay, Father Time and Mr. Dollar Bill don’t own anything. Nevertheless, time and money may be possessive in expressions such as next week’s test, two hours’ homework, a day’s pay, and so forth. Follow the rules for singular and plural owners, as explained at the beginning of this bulleted list. Easy stuff, right? See whether you can apply your knowledge. Turn the underlined word (or words) into the possessive form. Write your answers in the blanks provided. Q. The style of this year muscle car is Jill favorite. A. year’s, Jill’s. Two singular owners. Jill is the traditional owner — a person, but the time expression also takes an apostrophe. 26. Carol classic car is entered in tonight show. ______________________________ 27. She invested three months work in restoring the finish. _______________ 28. Carol will get by with a little help from her friends; Jess and Marty tires, which they pur- chased a few years ago with their first allowance, will be installed on her car. ______________________________ 29. The boys allowance, by the way, is far too generous, despite their sister-in-law objections. ______________________________ 30. Jill weekly paycheck is actually smaller than the brothers daily income. ______________________________ 31. Annoying as they are, the brothers donate a day pay from time to time to underfunded causes such as the Women Committee to Protect the Environment. ______________________________ 32. Carol couldn’t care less about the environment; the car gas mileage is ridiculously low. _______________ 33. She cares about the car, however. She borrowed Jess and Marty toothbrushes to clean the dashboard. ______________________________ 34. Now she needs her helpers maximum support as the final judging nears. _______________ 35. She knows that the judge decision will be final, but just in case she has volunteered two thousand dollars worth of free gasoline to his favorite charity. ______________________________ 36. Carol success is unlikely, because the court judgments can’t be influenced by anything but the law. ______________________________ 37. Last week, for example, the judge ruled in favor of a developer, despite the mother-in-law plea for a different verdict. _______________ 38. Ten hours begging did no good at all. _______________ 39. Tomorrow the judge will rule on the car show effect on the native animals habitat. ______________________________
95 Chapter 7: One Small Mark, a Whole New Meaning: Apostrophes 40. The geese ecosystem is particularly sensitive to automotive exhaust. ______________________________ 41. The fish ecosystem is easily damaged as well. _______________ 42. In September, someone poured two weeks worth of used french-fry oil into a lake. _______________ 43. All the marine animals oxygen was trapped in the oil. _______________ 44. Ten months cleaning was needed to restore the water to purity. _______________ 45. The restaurant that dumped the oil accepted responsibility for the cook actions. _______________ Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Apostrophes Marty’s to-do list, shown in Figure 7-1, needs some serious editing. Check the apostrophe situation. You need to find nine spots to insert and six spots to delete an apostrophe. Things to Do This Week A. Call Johns doctor and arrange for a release of annual medical report. B. Check on last springs blood pressure numbers to see whether they need to be changed. C. Ask John about his rodent problem’s. D. Find out why networks cant broadcast Tuesdays speech live, as John needs prime-time publicity. E. Ask whether his’ fondness for long speeches’ is a problem. F. Send big present to network president and remind him that you are both Yale 06. G. Order bouquet’s for secretary and National Secretaries Week card. H. Rewrite speech on cat litter’ to reflect sister-in-laws ideas. Figure 7-1: Mock to-do I. Tell opposing managers assistant that “you guys wouldnt stand a list, full of apostrophe chance” in the old day’s. mistakes.
96 Part II: Mastering Mechanics Answers to Apostrophe Problems a aren’t. The contraction drops the letter o and substitutes an apostrophe. b I’m, you’ll. In the first contraction, the apostrophe replaces the letter a. In the second, it replaces two letters, w and i. c won’t. This contraction is irregular because you can’t make an apostrophe-letter swap. Illogical though it may seem, won’t is the contraction of will not. d Don’t. Drop the space between the two words, eliminate the o, and insert an apostrophe to create don’t. e you’re, don’t. The first contraction sounds exactly like the possessive pronoun your. Don’t confuse the two. f would’ve, wouldn’t. Take care with the first contraction; many people mistakenly re-expand the contraction would’ve to would of (instead of the correct expansion, would have). The second contraction, wouldn’t, substitutes an apostrophe for the letter o. g can’t. Did you know that cannot is written as one word? The contraction also is one word, with an apostrophe knocking out an n and an o. h he’s. The same contraction works for he is (as in this sentence) and he has. i I’d. You’re dropping the letters woul. j you’d. The same contraction works for you would (as in this sentence) and you had. k She’s. The apostrophe replaces the letter i. l could’ve. Be careful in re-expanding this contraction. A common mistake is to write could of, an expression that’s a total no-no. m ’99. A date may be shortened, especially if you’re out with Adam. Just be sure that the context of the sentence doesn’t lead the reader to imagine a different century (2099, perhaps). This one is fairly clear, given that we’re nowhere near 2099, and 1899 is probably not the intended meaning. n ’06. Not much chance of the reader misunderstanding which numbers are missing here (unless he or she is really old)! o we’re, we’ll. The apostrophes replace the letter a and wi. p ’12, they’re. In the first part of this sentence, the apostrophe replaces two numerals. It’s okay to drop numerals as long as the reader is likely to understand what’s been left out. In the second part of this sentence, the apostrophe replaces the letter a. q we’re. The apostrophe replaces the letter a in this contraction of we are. r who’s. The apostrophe replaces the letter i in this one. s He’s. Only one letter is replaced here (i ), but in this hurried world, every letter counts. t We’ll. This one is a bargain. Drop two letters (wi ) and plop in an apostrophe instead.
97 Chapter 7: One Small Mark, a Whole New Meaning: Apostrophes u He’d. The apostrophe is a real space saver in this contraction; it replaces woul. v should’ve. If you take out the ha, you can insert an apostrophe and create a contraction. w couldn’t. I’m not sure why anyone cares about gossip, but I’m sure that the contraction has an apostrophe in place of the letter o. x isn’t. Drop the o and replace it with an apostrophe. y can’t, doesn’t. Two for the price of one here: In the first blank, you substitute an apostrophe for the letters no. In the second, just the o drops out in favor of the apostrophe. A Carol’s, tonight’s. Carol owns the car, so you just need to attach an apostrophe and an s to a singular form to create a singular possessive. The second answer illustrates a time/money pos- sessive expression. B three months’. The value of time and money can be expressed with a possessive form. Because you’re talking about months, a plural, the apostrophe goes after the s. C Jess and Marty’s. The sentence tells you that the boys own the tires together, so only one apostrophe is needed. It’s placed after the last owner’s name. The possessive pronoun her, like all possessive pronouns, has no apostrophe. D boys’, sister-in-law’s. The plural possessive just tacks an apostrophe onto the s, in regular, end-in-s plurals. Hyphenated forms are easy too; just attach the apostrophe and an s to the end. E Jill’s, brothers’. The first form is singular, so you add an apostrophe and an s. The second form is a regular plural, so you just add the apostrophe. F a day’s, Women’s. The first form falls into the time/money category, and because day is singu- lar, you add an apostrophe and an s. The second is an irregular plural (not ending in s), so you tack on an apostrophe and an s. G car’s. A singular possessive form calls for an apostrophe and an s. H Jess’s and Marty’s. Okay, the brothers are close, but they draw the line at shared toothbrushes. Each owns a separate brush, so each name needs an apostrophe. If a word ends in s (Jess, for example), adding an apostrophe and another s creates a spit factor: People tend to spray saliva all over when saying the word. To avoid this unsanitary problem, some writers add just the apostrophe (Jess’ ), even though technically they’ve neglected the extra s. Grammarians generally allow this practice, perhaps because they too dislike being spit upon. In all but the strictest situations, either form is correct. I helpers’. To create a plural possessive of a word ending in s, just attach an apostrophe. J judge’s, two thousand dollars’. The first answer is a simple, singular possessive, so an apostro- phe and an s do the trick. The second is a time/money possessive, and two thousand dollars is plural, so just an apostrophe is needed. K Carol’s, court’s. Two singular words, so only an apostrophe and the letter s are needed to make each possessive. L mother-in-law’s. The apostrophe and the letter s follow the last word of the hyphenated term. M Ten hours’. The apostrophe creates an expression meaning ten hours of begging. Because hours is plural, only an apostrophe is added.
98 Part II: Mastering Mechanics N car show’s, animals’. The first is a singular possessive, and the second is plural. O geese’s. The word geese is irregular. In an irregular plural, an apostrophe and the letter s are added. P fish’s. The word fish is irregular (and unusual); the singular and plural form are the same. To create a possessive, add an apostrophe and the letter s. Q weeks’. To create a plural possessive, add an apostrophe after the letter s. R animals’. This regular plural ends with the letter s. To show possession, add an apostrophe. S months’. This regular plural needs only an apostrophe after the s to become possessive. T cook’s. When one cook becomes possessive, he hogs all the desserts. Oops. That’s life, not grammar. Just add an apostrophe and the letter s. Things to Do This Week A. Call John’s doctor and arrange for a release of annual medical report. 46 B. Check on last spring’s blood pressure numbers to see whether they 47 need to be changed. C. Ask John about his rodent problem’s. 48 D. Find out why networks can’t broadcast Tuesday’s speech live, as John 49 50 needs prime-time publicity. E. Ask whether his’ fondness for long speeches’ is a problem. 51 52 F. Send big present to network president and remind him that you are both Yale ’06. 53 G. Order bouquet’s for secretary and National Secretaries’ Week card. 54 55 H. Rewrite speech on cat litter’ to reflect sister-in-law’s ideas. 56 57 I. Tell opposing manager’s assistant that “you guys wouldn’t stand a 58 59 chance” in the old day’s. 60 U The doctor belongs to John (in a manner of speaking), so the apostrophe is needed to show possession. V This time expression needs an apostrophe and an s. W A simple plural (not possessive, not a numeral, and so on) takes no apostrophe.
99 Chapter 7: One Small Mark, a Whole New Meaning: Apostrophes X In this contraction, the apostrophe replaces the letters n and o. Y Time expressions sometimes use apostrophes, as in Tuesday’s. z Possessive pronouns don’t have apostrophes. Z A plural takes no apostrophe. 1 Missing numerals (in this case, 20) are replaced by an apostrophe. 2 A simple plural doesn’t take an apostrophe. 3 This plural possessive form — the secretaries own the week, symbolically — adds an apostro- phe after the s. 4 In this sentence litter isn’t possessive and doesn’t need an apostrophe. 5 A hyphenated singular form takes an apostrophe and an s to become possessive. 6 A singular possessive is created by adding an apostrophe and an s. 7 In this contraction, the missing letter o is replaced by an apostrophe. 8 Days is just plural, not possessive, so it doesn’t take an apostrophe.
100 Part II: Mastering Mechanics
Chapter 8 “Let Me Speak!“ Quotation Marks In This Chapter Punctuating directly quoted material Placing other punctuation marks in sentences with quotations Dealing with speaker tags and embedded or interrupted quotations Punctuating titles of literary and media works W hen I first started teaching, I used to curve and wiggle two fingers of each hand whenever I was quoting someone else’s words. I assumed the students knew that my fingers represented the two little lines that precede and follow a direct quotation (“ ”). Big mistake. It was June before I discovered that they had interpreted my wiggles as a strange form of wave. Sadly, this error was only one of many they made with quotation marks. Quotation marks may puzzle you, too, because they’re subject to so many rules, most of which come from custom and tradition rather than logic. But if you’re willing to put in a little effort, you can crack the code and ace this important punctuation mark. Quotation marks have a few important jobs: Directly quoted material: Quotation marks surround words drawn from another person’s speech or writing. In fiction, quotation marks indicate dialogue: “I would love to receive a single rose,” sighed Sandy. Quotation marks don’t belong in a sentence that summarizes speech, such as He said that he had caught a cold. Titles: Quotation marks surround the titles of certain types of literary or other artworks: Emily’s first poem, “Ode on a Grecian Olive,” was printed in the school magazine. Distancing: Quotation marks sometimes are used to indicate slang or to tell the reader that the writer doesn’t agree with the words inside the quotation marks: I don’t always appreciate Emily’s “art.” In this chapter, you get to practice direct quotations and titles (lucky you!) along with a few other delights, including the interaction between quotation marks and other punctuation and quotations embedded inside other quotations. Let the games begin. Lending Written Words a Voice: Punctuating Direct Quotations The basic rule governing quotation marks is simple. Place quotation marks around words drawn directly from someone else’s speech or writing to distinguish their ideas and expres- sion from your own. Or, if you’re writing the Great American Novel, place quotation marks
102 Part II: Mastering Mechanics around dialogue. The tricky part is the interaction between quotation marks and other punctuation, such as commas, periods, and the like: If the quotation has a speaker tag (he murmured, she screamed, and so for th), the speaker tag needs to be separated from the quotation by a comma. • If the speaker tag is before the quotation, the comma comes before the opening quotation mark: Sharon sighed, “I hate hay fever season.” • If the speaker tag is after the quotation, the comma goes inside the closing quotation mark: “What a large snout you have,” whispered Richard lovingly. • If the speaker tag appears in the middle of a quotation, a comma is placed before the first closing quotation mark and immediately after the tag: “Here’s the handkerchief,” said Richard, “that I borrowed last week.” Just because you’re quoting, don’t think you have a license to create a run-on sentence. (See Chapter 4 for practice with run-ons.) If you have two complete sentences, quoted or not, they should be written as separate sentences or linked correctly with a semicolon or a joining word such as and. If the quotation ends the sentence, the period goes inside the closing quota- tion mark. Richard added, “I would like to kiss the tip of your humungous ear.” If the quotation is a question or an exclamation, the question mark or the exclamation mark goes inside the closing quotation mark. “Why did you slap me?” asked Richard. “I was complimenting you!” Note: Question and exclamation marks serve as sentence-ending punctuation, so you don’t need to add a period after the quotation marks. If the quotation is neither question nor exclamation, but the sentence in which the quotation appears is, the question mark or exclamation point goes outside the closing quotation mark. I can’t believe that Richard said he’s “a world class lover”! Do you think Sharon will ever get over his “sweet nothings”? If the quotation is tucked into the sentence without a speaker tag, as in the previ- ous two sample sentences, no comma separates the quotation from the rest of the sentence. Nor does the quotation begin with a capital letter. Quotations with speaker tags, on the other hand, always begin with a capital letter, regardless of where the speaker tag falls. In an interrupted quotation (speaker tag in the middle), the first word of the first half of the quotation is capitalized, but the first word of the second half is not, unless it’s a proper name. Semicolons and colons always go outside the quotation marks. Mary explained that the book was “too long”; I told her to read it anyway. Enough with the explanation. Put the pedal to the metal in each of the following sen- tences. Your job is to identify the direct quotation, and fill in the proper punctuation, in the proper order, in the proper places. Here and there I add extra information in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Q. The annual company softball game is tomorrow declared Becky. A. “The annual company softball game is tomorrow,” declared Becky. Don’t count yourself right unless you placed the comma inside the closing quotation mark. 1. I plan to pitch added Becky, who once tried out for the Olympics. 2. Andy interrupted As usual I will play third base

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